The government is giving the Wairoa community another $500,000 to help it recover from devastating flooding.
The Wairoa river flooded more than 400 properties as heavy rain lashed the east coast last week, and the mayor Craig Little says there has been about $40 million worth of damage.
Little lifted Wairoa's state of emergency on Wednesday morning.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell announced the extra cash during a visit to the district on Wednesday, which follows initial funding of $100,000 last week.
"Last week's flooding has been really tough for Wairoa, particularly following the impacts of other severe weather events in the past couple of years, and the district council have indicated that they require financial support to clean up damaged properties."
The money would be spent on "immediate and pressing needs", including the clean up of sections, replacing clothes and bedding, and the hire and purchase of drying and dehumidifying equipment.
Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
He said the residents were showing a sense of resilience despite the misfortune that had come their way in the last 16 months.
"A big part of the recovery is people seeing things happening quickly," he said, promising the government was trying to speed things up as much as possible.
Mitchell praised the efforts of volunteers, civil defence and council, emergency services, iwi, contractors and everyone who was supporting the Wairoa community.
"Thank you for the work you are doing - it has been heartening to see how strong our communities are when we stand together."
Meanwhile Environment Minister Penny Simmonds said the government will lead an urgent review into how Hawke's Bay Regional Council managed the river.
The council has already admitted Wairoa would have flooded less if a channel to let the rising river release into the sea was dug sooner.
It has announced it was commissioning an external review of how the process was handled.
Mayor Little is among those who support a government review of how the regional council responded during the emergency, and has pointed the finger at how it managed the river.
The minister shares his concerns.
"This review will look at whether there was adequate monitoring of the state of the Wairoa River bar; whether correct decisions were made in a timely way; and whether there were any other actions that could have been taken," Simmons said.
Heavy machinery caught in floodwaters at the Wairoa River mouth, on 26 June 2024. Photo: Supplied / Siobhan Pryde
"It is about finding out where improvements can be made so we can better manage future events and protect communities."
Simmonds, who also visted Wairoa on Wednesday, said the review would look at the monitoring, the decision-making and how it all went wrong.
"These families are going through a huge amount. It's impressive what they're doing for each other and we need to do our bit about what caused this."
The review is expected to take around four weeks, with findings and recommendations to be presented to Hawke's Bay Regional Council in August.
